Independence Day X 3

Living in Paris has afforded me the opportunity to experience Independence Day celebrations from a different perspective.

Last year for the Fourth of July, we traveled to Normandy and saw the beaches made famous in World War II.  The American Cemetery sits on a bluff over-looking Omaha Beach, and is -- outside the U.S. --  the largest resting place for the thousands of American soldiers who lost their lives in the liberation of  France.  When we walked into the cemetery that day, there was a group of people handing out long-stem roses with a name attached to each one.  If you accepted the gift, you were to find the grave site of the individual listed on the paper, and place the rose on his head-stone...a special way to make the visit more personal.

Original color photo processed to B/W

I was proud to be an American, walking among our war heroes...a feeling magnified by my own distance from home.  A different holiday, to be sure, from the barbecues and parades of past Fourths.

This year, I was in Washington D.C. for the Fourth.  I started the day early with a bike ride via Capital Hill and the Mall, taking my usual route across and down the Potomac river.  I saw bits and pieces of the parade preparations as I rode down side streets that were feeders for the main route of the parade.

I tried to avoid the crowds and kept mostly on the periphery...circling around with a locals' ease, not wanting to be seen.  It was a hot and oppressive day, and the weather reflected my mood of being alone on a holiday.  I rode the hills of the Custis Trail, and made connections to loved ones via iPhone... reaching out through the air waves.

However, unbeknownst to me on my ride, the day was to end on a high note with an unexpected dinner invitation from the friends who own the apartment that we rent.  A gourmet affair of barbecued chicken wings and turkey burgers accompanied with cold salads, and a crisp, tart white wine, followed by home made brownies and a zinfandel dessert wine.  A feast befitting the holiday, shared with friends both old and new.   Dinner was followed by a race back down to the Mall on the bike to see the fireworks...although I use the term "race" loosely as the possibility to race anywhere was greatly hampered by thousands upon thousands of people.  I was up close to the center of activity -- something I'd avoided all day long, and now understood why -- and even though the display was impressive, I learned that next year, if I happen to be in D.C. for the Fourth, I'll plan to enjoy the fireworks from a distance... like maybe the couch in front of the T.V.

The French celebrate their Independence Day on July 14th.  Known to non-French speakers as Bastille Day -- the French simply call it "quatorze juillet" -- the date commemorates the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille prison and the bloody battle that marked the beginning of a revolution that would see the end of the monarchy in France.  King Louis XVI signed the Declaration of Rights of Man in 1789,  not long after the revolution in our own country.

Celebrations in France are much like ours...but also contain some uniquely French flavors.  Even though -- just like the American holiday -- the day's festivities begin with a parade, there are no floats, no dancing girls, and definitely no balloons.  It is, in fact, a military parade that marches right down the Champs-Elysées. In my opinion, the best part is the jets that fly over the city streaming their red, white, and blue contrails.

This year for Bastille Day, Charlie and I had the good fortune to be in the right place at the right time for the fireworks display in Paris. After a July 13th maiden voyage of my new tripod...a practice session for photographing Paris-after-dark...we stopped by a favorite haunt to have a glass of wine.   After I showed my new pictures to the waiter, he asked where we would be watching the fireworks the following evening. It quickly became clear to him that we didn't have an acceptable plan, so he told us about "un balcon parfait" that would be ideal for taking pictures of all of Paris. At that point, he personally took me next door -- "the perfect balcony" being the roof-top of the Holiday Inn -- and introduced me to the maitre d' who made a reservation for Charlie and me for the following evening.

ET VOILA!...a perfect evening.  We were far from the maddening crowd, I was able to set up my tripod in a ideal position, and we were able to sit and enjoy a nice bottle of wine and experience not only a great fireworks show, but a performance of no less magnificence staged by Mother Nature herself:  a glorious sunset.

The Eiffel Tower is a silhouette for most of the display. 

The Eiffel Tower sparkles for the grand finale.

So there you have it... three very different Independence Day celebrations, each framed by a common theme, yet made unique by their own special details. I must say that now, when I hear the words  "Independence Day," I have a much different perspective.

I'm already looking forward to next year.

for more pictures click here:  http://gallery.me.com/emarshall10/100067

A Pleasant Surprise

I don't know why it took me so long to fly the trip to Ghana.  With all our wanderings around Africa you would think that I would have been all over that particular destination.  After a few inquiries around the base about the trip, most of the flight attendants I talked to were pretty luke warm about it.

The Labadi Beach Resort

It could have been all the vaccinations and medications required in order to take the trip...or maybe it was the extra computer based training indoctrinating you to the African culture that put every one off... possibly the insufferable heat was a turn off.  All things considered, you have to really want to go to Africa to bid this trip...it just so happens I really did want to go.
The shots and medications weren't a problem for me as I'd already been there, done that...the only thing for me was to update my malaria prescription...so I threw caution to the wind and worked the flight from Washington's Dulles airport to Accra, the capital of Ghana, which leaves at 10:30 at night, thank you very much (another possible deterrent...?)
We land around 2:00pm the next afternoon and the airport is like many others I've seen throughout Africa.
It's a ramp operation, so there's no air conditioned jet way.  Just straight on to the tarmac and into the terminal building.  There's a small bank just outside of immigration where we all change money for the trip, and then board the van to the hotel.
 The crew layover hotel is a resort right on the beach and absolutely fabulous.

  My first mission is get the camera and head out to the beach.  So after a quick shower and change, I come across two of my flying partners who have beat me out to the beach and are in discussion with one of the locals.  I join in and quickly make friends with my first Ghanaian, Osa.

Me and Osa

He is friends with my flying partners, as they come here all the time, and he sells jewelry by day to support his music habit by night.  A budding musician will always have a spot in my heart, so  I take a look at his wares.  He is very soft spoken and gentle and doesn't employ a hard sell, so needless to say, I'm going home with a few pieces of African jewelry.

Anxious to capture the beach scene in the soft light of sunset, I leave my new friends behind and venture further down the beach.


























There's lots of activity and I'm not disappointed ... lots of pictures to take.

The next day we have to work a turn to Lagos.  Mostly a waisted day spent in airports as we sit in the lounge at the airport for three hours before working the trip back to Accra.

The following day I set off for some sight seeing.  After hearing that it's not advisable for a woman to travel around town on her own, I commandeer a couple of my flying buddies to venture out with me.  We hire a guide and go to James Town.   A suburb really of Accra, it's an old colonial outpost build around  James fort, and now is a quaint fishing village.  It also has a very cool light house that affords magnificent views up and down the coast line.

On our way back to the hotel, our guide takes us to a children's school.  It's a loose structure, all open air, with partitions of sorts that I imagine are class divisions.  There are a few dry erase boards with very basic lessons in English written on them.

The kids are pretty well behaved and they all have some semblance of a uniform on, that  includes a smile.  Wonder and curiosity beams across all every face.

 They range in age from 2 to 10, and have just eaten lunch and are trying to get settled down for nap time.  That is... until we showed up. The kids are so excited to see us, and when the camera comes out, it's a mob scene.

We saw and felt a lot that day... much of which was heart wrenching... but those kids...they are what will bring me back... again and again...
the innocence and promise in their eyes...that will bring me back...very, very soon.

For more photos of Ghana click here to visit my Picasa album:

Le printemps est arrivé!

Jefferson Memorial just after dawn

Spring is definitely my favorite time of year.  In particular, the month of April.  Now maybe that's because my birthday is in April...maybe because it's finally starting to warm up...but most probably it's because I love flowers.  And they are coming up everywhere...even out of the trees!
This is my first time to really experience the Cherry Blossom Festival which happens annually here in Washington DC.  This year the festival took on a more poignant note with the earthquake disaster in Japan still looming on the headlines.  The cherry blossom is the national flower of Japan, and 99 years ago the Japanese government gifted a couple thousand cherry trees as a show of friendship to the American government.  Interestingly, the original shipment had to be destroyed after being inspected by the department of agriculture who deemed it to be bug infested.  However, the Japanese government was determined, and the following year a new crop was sent with all the precautions taken to ensure a clean bill of health upon arrival.

 The trees were planted along the Potomac and the Tidal Basin, with the first two trees being set in the ground by Mrs. Taft herself.  (Those trees are still alive and thriving, by the way.)

The Cherry Blossom festival attracts millions of visitors every year, and, for 10 days, the city is full of tourist...each of them with a camera trying to capture the essence of this magnificent display of Spring's magic.

An artist on the tidal basin

Along the Mt. Vernon bike trail

Some people take a more traditional approach to preserving the grand display of color.  My preferred method is on the seat of a bicycle, ... either early in the morning, before everyone is awake... or from the other side of the Potomac, along the Mount Vernon bike trail. Exposed to the elements, I can smell the compost in the air, and chase butterflies down the path.   There are plenty of flowers -- only some of which are cherry blossoms -- and not quite so many people.    Yeah... I love spring!

Key West

To see Key West fade from view from the airplane window was a sad sight indeed.   We'd just spent a week on Sugarloaf Key, one of the 1700 islands that make up the archipelago collectively known as the Florida Keys.  Not only were we leaving with some fabulous memories of great times with new friends, but we'd discovered another corner of this amazing planet we call home.

The airport at Key West is small, and like some of the outer islands of Hawaii, still a ramp operation. So deplaning is a delightful walk down a flight of stairs, with that intoxicating tropical air greeting you as you negotiate your way around other parked aircraft.  Certainly not hard to imagine the original flying clippers of Pan American Airlines as they launched the first scheduled air service out of this airport in 1928.

The first thing I noticed was a sign welcoming us to "The Conch Republic."  A reference to the time (1982!) when the mayor of Key West  tried to secede from the Union.  Apparently the border patrol set up a road block for all northbound traffic as a deterrent to drug smuggling.  Too much cannabis was getting through the loosely patrolled borderline.  This was quite a nuissance, not to mention a real downer for the tourist industry, so the mayor  declared independence and named the new territory "The Conch Republic."  His first act -- as prime minister of the Conch Republic --  was to surrender to the appropriate authorities and request one billion dollars in foreign aid...don't you love it...?  His stunt had the desired effect and the roadblocks were removed... but the moniker remains even though Key West is still very much America.

BTW:
That's Conch pronounced "konk," which literally is a sea snail with a beautiful soft pink, spiral shell.  You know, the kind you hold up to your ear and hear the ocean.

Our new friends, Doug and Nancy, picked us up at the airport.  The plan hatched by Doug and Charlie in the septic pit they were digging for Habitat in Cameroon in November was now to become a reality.
Doug is a sort of "Jack of all Trades," and, unlike the adage, a master of many, one of which is accomplished chef.  To our immense enjoyment, we had fabulous seafood dinners -- a la Doug -- every night.  Nancy is a very successful artist -- you can see her work at www.nancyaprilstudios.com -- and general life  (and wildlife) enthusiast.  Both of them oozing with a joie de vivre that is infectious.  The four of us had a fabulous time and were indeed sad when Charlie and I had to leave after our all-too-brief week with them.

Nancy and Doug were -- needless to say -- the ones with the inside track to Sugarloaf Key (and Florida for that matter), and this is their second year to rent this fabulous house, complete with a grand piano, right on the water.  They live in upstate New York and drove down with all the comforts of home, most notably their bikes and kayaks.

Our first day there, we rented some beach cruiser bikes and rode every morning.

We had fun racing out to the eastern tip of the island on those bikes for the sunrises, and often we were still on the kayak -- a 2-person kayak came with the house -- for the spectacular sunsets.

So...we spent a large part of each day on the water exploring the waterways through the mangrove-lined canals.  Nancy has a sixth sense when it comes to spotting creatures both in and out of the water.  She was our tour guide extraordinaire, showing us how to get up close and personal with the local wildlife, pointing out lots of birds, iguanas, turtles, and sea life including nurse sharks and Portuguese Man O'War jelly fish.

On the last night we were there, we went for a midnight kayak ride through the inky black waters where the unseen becomes the adversary.  Since I was the lone objector in the group, I had to face my fears... and peer pressure... and buck up.  It was one of the highlights of the trip!  What was I thinking...?

But the best part ...truly... was spending time with new friends.  What a delight.  We can't wait for the next adventure with them!

For more pictures click here.

The new "Regime"

Well the new year has officially started...and I have to say 2010 ended quite nicely for me.  I flirted shamelessly with the travel-delay gods, and in spite of three trips across winter ravaged Europe, and two trips across the continental United states, I never got caught in the many horrible delays that plagued this holiday season.  I thank my lucky stars for that, even though at some point, I know I'll have to pay it forward.  Charlie and I had a nice visit with my family in California over Christmas and all is well with my people there.

The company my son works for, "Pirates Press"  just moved  to a new location which is much bigger, and well ... a really cool spot...if I do say so myself.  They have a huge space which affords them not only room for the vast amount of inventory they store, but also a nice studio space for Matt to practice, and perfect his music.  For those of you who don't know, he is in the vinyl pressing business (and yes those are all demos on the wall behind him) and he's doing quite well.  I always say that if success is measured by happiness, then my son has made it... big time!  He loves what he's doing and seems to eat, live and breathe all things music related.

Like most artists, he is driven by a passion from within, which I admire, in more ways than one.  Needless to say, I am very proud of him.

So it's...2011... the resolutions are still young and  hopeful.  A new routine initiated with the hope of starting off the new year with a more healthy, low-fat lifestyle.

  The French word for diet is "regime".  I love that... !  It sort of conjures up an entire regiment of rules and restrictions.  Not that I'm a great one for dieting - but I do like the idea of getting healthy in a regimented way.
So for the next couple of weeks, in between trips, it's off to the gym we go... in our case, the YMCA.  Which by any body's standards is a very nice facility.  Set in downtown D.C. the gym itself takes up 7 floors of a large brownstone building on the corner of Rhode Island Avenue and 17th Street.  Along with lots of state of the art cardio equipment, an olympic size swimming pool, raquetball and squash courts, a climbing wall, indoor track and basketball court, a sauna and a steam room, they have a purple spinning room!

A nice dark color to compliment the imaginings of a bike ride in the real world, on a real mountain. The sweat is real enough, and it's a good work out.... you only have to look out onto the snow covered sidewalks outside to appreciate the fantasy.

So that's it for now- if you're looking for me, I'll be in a purple haze, fantasizing about bike rides in exotic places with long gradual hills to climb.


P.S.  While writing this blog last Saturday, I took a break from it and for some reason, got up and turned on the news.  The shootings in Tuscon had just happened, and I watched the horror unfold.  I was unable to return to what seemed trivial in comparison to what the victims of that massacre endured. The blog was left half finished.   Tonight I listened to our president lead the nation in a eulogy that I found insightful and inspiring.
It was a challenge to us all to be a better person, and treat each other with civility.  That we can disagree without being disagreeable. He emphasized living up to our children's expectations of a democratic America, and all that that entails.
 Now that's a resolution I can get behind!

Happy 2011 everyone!